This invention relates generally to lids used to cover containers having materials therewithin and simultaneously being capable of being formed as a dispensing utensil.
Heretofore people requiring the use of a utensil associated with a container, the contents of which are to be consumed or otherwise dispensed, availed themselves of wooden spoons or the like given as an adjunct to the container. More recently, however, it has been found that a higher degree of efficiency and economies in product packaging could be realized by providing a spoon integral with the container lid itself.
The following U.S. patent reflect the state of the art of which applicant is aware in so far as these patent appear germane to the patent process: Nos.
3,722,770 Chang PA1 3,931,925 Ruff PA1 4,036,398 Hoogvelt et al. PA1 4,060,176 Tobiasson PA1 4,218,010 Ruff
Of these references, the patent to Hoogvelt et al. is of great interest since they teach the use of a container with a removable lid having inner and outer surfaces, the lid being peripherally sealed to the container. A pull ring is secured to the outer surface of the lid and a disposable eating utensil is removably secured to the inner surface of the lid so that in one form of the invention, the eating utensil is capable of dissociation from the lid itself, in another form, the utensil is pivotally disposed away from the lid bottom surface and thereafter the lid portion itself is foldable and deformable to provide a further hand grasping area for the consumer. Clearly, the device as defined hereinabove lends itself to use only when the container lid is formed from metal, an undesirable feature in many instances when the container is to be handled by a child or the like, since lids of this type are susceptible to exposing sharp edges capable of cutting.
The patent to Chang teaches the use of a combination food container and implement for extracting the contents in which the utensil is removably attachable to a bottom surface of a lid my means of slidable disposition within a sheath or the like, and suffers from a concomitant increase in the manufacturing costs therewith when contrasted with the apparatus according to the instant application.
The patent to Tobiasson teaches the use of a food container lid which is converted into a spoon for use in eating from the container in which the flap defining the spoon is separable from the remainder of the lid and is bendable along with the lid in such a manner that the remaining lip portion serves as the handle and facilitates manipulation of the spoon bowl. The lid covering and the base of the spoon bowl flap are foldable upon themselves with the covering encompassing the base in order to enhance structural rigidity. By way of contrast however the Tobiasson teaching does not lend itself readily to manipulation by unskilled hands, nor is it provided with a diametrically extending weakened area which allows a deformation once made to remain prior to subsequent realignment, so as to provide an eating utensil which when utilized does not require constant pressure along the lid area to cause the utensil to deform to a useful configuration during the dispensing process.
Similarly, the patents to Ruff teach the use of a container lid which is convertible into a scoop, in which the lid itself is capable of deformation in a specified manner so as to provide a utensil that is readily deployable. However, in reviewing the prior art of Ruff, particularly the earlier patent, difficulties exist in using a paperboard lid in so far as training the populous most likely to use the device i.e. children into deforming the lid in a proper fashion to provide a facile utensil. It is not seen how the improvement defined by the successive Ruff patent remedies these deficiencies in a manner as elegant as the instant application nor is it seen how this device according to Ruff provides concomitant benefits which are associated with the instant application as will now be defined.
By way of contrast, the instant application is directed to and claims a combined lid and eating utensil associated therewith which is provided with a hinge and score line along the intersection of the utensil and the lid on a bottom face thereof adapted to allow the utensil to be rotated along the hinge area and deployed outwardly of the lid, a score line running along a diameter of the utensil and the lid whereby deformation of the lid causes a corresponding deformation in the handle such that when thusly deployed, a utensil for dispensing material disposed within the container is capable of being incrementally extracted therefrom, but should the user decide to not dispense all of the contents at one sitting, the lid and utensil combination can be reoriented back to its original configuration and placed on the container without compromising the integrity of the seal of the container-lid interface.